Why I love the ‘war chapters’ in the Book of Mormon, and why we need them now

I love the ‘war chapters’ of The Book of Mormon!

They’re an epic of courage, daring, nobility, faithfulness, and an example of what happens when inside forces threaten the stability of a nation, and how to fight against such enemies with tenacity and mercy.

The Nephite leaders and soldiers are dedicated to a great cause – liberty and a future – and are brave and remarkable in protecting it. I have so much admiration for Moroni, commander of the Nephite armies, who knew what mattered most and made sure his people knew it and fought for it. He was direct and firm in rejecting the arguments of those who would destroy his people’s liberty, and in crushing their attempts to do it. He inspired those who fought under him, managed the complex difficulties of a multi-front war, was consistently fair, and promoted self-reliance and responsibility among his people. This is what we need in our time, and what there is not enough of.

People often question the usefulness of these chapters – why did Mormon include so much about this period, and what relevance do they have to today? – but their relevance is clearly apparent to me. Even before that, they’re just so entertaining to read – enagaging like a great movie. The Sunday School readings skip over these chapters in just one-and-a-bit weeks; there’s no way you can read all of that, with so much detail and things to consider, in such a short time. I wish they were given the attention they need, given how important they are to our very day.

Why the ‘war chapters’?

We already know Mormon was a skilled and prophetic abridger of his people’s records. That skill didn’t leave him when he chose to include so much about this period of their history. It’s not an aberration or oversight. He wasn’t mentally incapacitated or forgetful for a while. Nor was he consumed with the importance only of his own time – because he was also commander of the Nephite armies, and experienced so much war. He wasn’t being indulgent – since he admired Moroni, naming his son after him, leading him to write so much about the man and his career.

These are surely not the reasons Mormon went into such detail in sharing this history. It’s demeaning to his intelligence, careful curation, prophetic gift and calling, seership, and obvious insight. He carved all those letters into metal plates because he had a desperately important message to share.

Mormon saw our day. God showed it to him, as He has shown many of his prophets through the ages. The message that Mormon and his son, Moroni, share – the message they cry from the dust – is that we must choose. Everyone must choose, between Satan and God. And we must beware of the dangers posed by those who choose Satan and themselves, because they will, if enough people do not choose God and righteousness, overcome our nations and destroy our civilisation, the way they took over the Lamanites’ and almost overcame the Nephites’ civilisations – and eventually succeeded at doing in Mormon’s day. Mormon and Moroni implore us, directly and through what they share of their people, to be wiser than the Nephites were – and as wise as they were in their best times, like this war period.

The war chapters are in there for a very good reason, and they are immensely relevant to our time.

Fighting words

Okay! Let’s get into one of my favourite chapters in this section: Alma 54.

This chapter packs a punch; it’s exciting and moving. You can feel Moroni’s extreme frustration with the wicked men who have caused years of suffering to his people, and his determination to end it. Ammoron’s reply makes it easy to see what sort of person he is, as Moroni knows. We have men and women like Ammoron in our societies today, who work for themselves/the devil, care nothing for the truth, and will do anything to get what they want, regardless of the cost (to others).

What do I love about this chapter? Well, if you don’t already love it yourself, let me explain!

First, it shows us, again, who Moroni is. It’s a great example of his qualities of honour, boldness, courage, and firmness in standing – fighting – for what is right. He loves his people and their nation; he loves and will protect their freedom (if they will help him – he has to fight for that too); he loves God and truth. Moroni is not afraid of Ammoron or what he can do: he doesn’t give in to unreasonable demands; he doesn’t conciliate him. He is clear and direct about what Ammoron is doing, and what his brother did, that is wrong. He points out their obvious sins against their own people, the Nephites, whom they’ve rejected and betrayed, and against God. He sets out very clearly what will happen if Ammoron continues that course. Moroni knows he’s in the right, and he’s bold in his authority to denounce the actions of those who have made themselves his enemies and his people’s enemies.

I love reading this, because it’s so gratifying. I know that we need men like Moroni here and now. We need them to stand up, as he did, for what is clearly right, against what is obviously wrong. I read this, and want him transported here, to show the people of our time what honour, courage and leadership are.

Second, the words!👏 Oh, the words. Moroni chooses the best words. Here’re some for (serious) fun:

Behold, I would tell you somewhat concerning the justice of God, and the sword of his almighty wrath which doth hang over you except ye repent and withdraw your armies into your own lands, or the land of your possessions, which is the land of Nephi (because this was their ancestral land, Nephites as well as Lamanites – it was even called ‘Nephi’).

Yea, I would tell you these things if ye were capable of hearkening unto them; yea, I would tell you concerning that awful hell that awaits to receive such murderers as thou and thy brother have been, except ye repent and withdraw your murderous purposes, and return with your armies to your own lands.

But as ye have once rejected these things, and have fought against the people of the Lord, even so I may expect ye will do it again.

And now behold, we are prepared to receive you; yea, and except ye withdraw your murderous purposes, behold, ye will pull down the wrath of that God whom you have rejected upon you, even to your utter destruction.

But, as the Lord liveth, our armies shall come upon you except ye withdraw, and ye shall soon be visited with death, for we will retain our cities and our lands; yea, and we will maintain our religion and the cause of our God.

(Alma 54:6-10)

Yes!✊ Let’s have some more excellent Moroni-words:

But behold, it supposeth me that I talk to you in vain; or it supposeth me that thou art a child of hell; therefore I will close mine epistle by telling you that I will not exchange prisoners save it be on conditions that you will deliver up a man and his wife and his children, for one prisoner….

And behold, if ye do not this, I will come against you with my armies; yea, even I will arm my women and my children, and I will come against you, and I will follow you even into your own land, which is the land of our first inheritance; yea, and it shall be blood for blood, yea, life for life; and I will give you battle even until you are destroyed from off the face of the earth.

Behold, I am in my anger, and also my people; ye have sought to murder us, and we have only sought to defend ourselves. But behold, if ye seek to destroy us more we will seek to destroy you; yea, and we will seek our land, the land of our first inheritance.

Moroni’s anger is palpable. It’s been ten long years since this period of war began, spearheaded by disaffected Nephites who wanted to rule over both peoples, and were angry that they hadn’t been allowed to do it amongst the Nephites in peacetime. Amalickiah had been instrumental in getting the Lamanites to continue the war, when they were afraid and had made an oath to Moroni and the Nephite army not to. He’d used deception, murder, and complete disregard for the lives and wellbeing of the Lamanites to get his way. After being gratifyingly knocked off by Teancum, who correctly figured that he had been the main cause of so much suffering and destruction among the Nephites, Ammoron continued his evil, psychopathic quest.

Yet Moroni continues to hold to the rules of warfare, in his anger. He clearly sets out his terms, and warns Ammoron of what will happen if he doesn’t pull back and discontinue the attacks. Note that the Lamanites had captured women and children as well as men or soldiers, while the Nephites captured only fighters who surrendered on the battlefield.

When evil attacks

Do you know what else this makes me think of, right now? It’s strikingly similar to the conflict between Israel and Hamas/Gaza. It’s also similar, in a more metaphorical way, to the work of the critical social justice crowd against the West – although I see it heading towards being more literally similar if it continues, without enough people like Moroni and Teancum to fight them off and rally everyone else.

You can see the parallels in the table below (it gets long!). I believe we should be relating these situations in order to understand the warning Mormon is giving us. If we ignore it, and pretend these ‘war chapters’ are just a metaphorical allegory at best, and a waste of space needed for ‘more spiritual things’ at worst, we’re doomed to repeat what the Nephites and Lamanites ultimately did. In addition, our enemies will overcome us, unlike the Nephites at this time, who listened to their inspired leaders and stood up for peace, God, and liberty against the foes who would not rest in their campaigns against them – and those in their midst.

We must learn the lessons of Captain Moroni’s day, for our own preservation and moral victory over evil in our time.

Amalackiah, Ammoron & Moroni	Hamas & Israel
“Now the Lamanites had taken many women and children, and there was not a woman nor a child among all the prisoners… whom Moroni had taken” (54:3).	Hamas and civilian terrorists took civilian prisoners during their incursion into Israel on 7th October last year, including women, children, and elderly. They would only exchange them for convicted terrorists/other prisoners in Israeli custody.
Lamanites had invaded the lands of the Nephites (several times over the course of this ongoing war), killing many as they went, taking over cities, and taking many people prisoner.	Hamas terrorists & other Gazans raided Israel during a religious holiday, killing many – men, women, children, and elderly – in brutal fashion. They took many prisoners as bargaining chips for the convicted terrorists they wanted freed and probably for protection when they returned to Gaza. However, they didn’t treat them very well, which is pretty stupid.
Moroni asks for a prisoner exchange, and tells Ammoron he will do it only if they can exchange one prisoner of theirs (a Lamanite soldier) for one Nephite family. Ammoron agrees to the exchange, demands that the Nephites yield up their lands and their government to him and the Lamanites, and pledges to “wage a war which shall be eternal, either to the subjecting the Nephites to our authority or to their eternal extinction” (54:20).	Hamas unlawfully and violently took prisoners – civilians and families included – from Israel, and has demanded (and received, on several occasions) the exchange of multiple lawfully-convicted terrorists in Israeli prisons for one Israeli prisoner (so, large groups of felons for small groups of Israeli prisoners; one to several each). In 2011, 1,027 prisoners, the current Hamas leader included, were exchanged for one captured Israeli soldier. The leader was in prison for “masterminding the abduction and murder of two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinians” (Yahoo! news, 4 Oct, 2024). Hamas exists to eliminate Jews and destroy Israel (the meaning of the chant, ‘From the hills to the sea, Palestine will be free’). This is in their charter (so nice that they have a charter). In a 2022 speech, Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, “vowed to send a flood of fighters and rockets to Israel, hinting at a war that would either unite the world to establish a Palestinian state on land Israel occupied in 1967, or leave the Jewish nation isolated on the global stage” (Yahoo! news).
Amalickiah – a Nephite dissenter who was with the king-men (aristocratic group who wanted to reinstate kings – themselves – over the Nephites) had become king of the Lamanites through treachery and murder. He then persuaded the Lamanite army – which refused to go against the Nephites again after their last experience, and the oath they’d made not to return to fight – lest they also die, or have their heads scalped, at least – to mount another campaign against the Nephites.	Hamas took over the government of Gaza after eliminating their enemies (the previous government) and being voted in by Gazans, in the hope of improving their largely-pitiful situation. Once in power, Hamas eliminated any opposition to their rule and policies, brutally murdering them (throwing from tall buildings is apparently a favourite) and displaying their bodies. Leaders planned offensives against Israel (regular rocket strikes, then the raid on 7th October last year), despite obvious evidence of Israel’s superior firepower and military might, and the will to use it in their own defense. They incited Gazans and directed Hamas soldiers to invade Israel and terrorise their people everywhere they found them.
Moroni writes, “Behold, I am in my anger, and also my people; ye have sought to murder us, and we have only sought to defend ourselves. But behold, if ye seek to destroy us more we will seek to destroy you; yea, and we will seek our land, the land of our first inheritance” (v. 13). Also: “And behold, if ye do not this (exchange one Nephite family for every Lamanite prisoner – Israel & the UN; it’s mostly the UN letting it happen; should learn from Moroni!), I will come against you with my armies; yea… I will come against you even into your own land, which is the land of our first inheritance; yea, and it shall be blood for blood, yea, life for life; and I will give you battle even until you are destroyed from off the face of the earth” (v. 12).	The Israeli prime minister has pledged to bring the prisoners home (sadly, some never will return), and the IDF have pursued Hamas into their own territory, which Israel had held off from doing before, despite lots of provocation. Their goal is to destroy Hamas completely, along with Hezbollah, their terrorist allies in Lebanon and Iran – and PM Benjamin Netanyahu says that they will do it. They are confident they can, and have proven it.
Ammoron maintains that the Nephites’ ancestors – specifically Lehi and Nephi – oppressed the Lamanites’ ancestors (Laman and Lemuel), taking away the right of government from them. He writes: “For behold, your fathers did wrong their brethren, insomuch that they did rob them of their right to government when it rightly belonged unto them” (v. 17). He tells Moroni that if his people will give up their weapons and submit to being governed “by those to whom the government doth rightly belong”, then he’ll stop the war.	Hamas leaders use propaganda that Israel is occupying their ancestral land (untrue – today’s Palestinians are Arab Muslims who invaded the region themselves; ancestrally, it’s more Israel’s than anyone’s), have oppressed the people of Gaza and neighbouring enclaves, and will continue to do so unless they ‘rise up’ and take it back. They, and many Palestinians, believe it rightly belongs to them and to Islam, and the Israelis are an illegitimate occupying force preventing them from having what they want – freedom and prosperity. In fact, it is Hamas itself, and the people of Gaza, who have made it a miserable place. Large amounts of aid money (including from Israel, along with lots of other help) has been given to Gaza, but it has not gone to the people. The government takes it and then blames the people’s woes on Israel.
“Now it came to pass that when Moroni had received this epistle (Ammoron’s reply) he was more angry, because he knew that Ammoron had a perfect knowledge of his fraud; yea, he knew that Ammoron knew that it was not a just cause that had caused him to wage a war against the people of Nephi.” (55:1)	Unfortunately, those who best fit this description are groups of people in Western countries who think what Hamas leaders say is true. They’ve listened for many years to social justice accounts of the situation which place Gaza in an oppressed role and Israel as the aggressor. This view ignores the clear reality, both historical and current: Israel was granted possession of a small portion of land where their people had traditionally lived, after not having a homeland for almost 2,000 years. That fact contributed to actual oppression wherever Jews lived, over all these centuries. This culminated in the Holocaust of World War II, at the hands of the Nazi regime. For their failure to stop it in time, the nations of the world decided to grant them a homeland once again. The reason there’s such a great difference between living standards in Gaza and Israel is that the Israeli people have built a prosperous, cohesive, active nation, in contrast to the oppressive Islamic regimes elsewhere in the region. Those who call themselves Palestinians have not done this, and the discrepancy grows ever greater because they continue to follow those who care only for power and control. Palestinians who move to Israel live as other Israelis do. One Palestinian family living in Israel protected a group of young adults fleeing the music festival/rave the Palestinian terrorists had attacked. Israel is not the problem; Hamas and militant Islam are.
“Behold, I know the place where the Lamanites do guard my people whom they have taken prisoners; and as Ammoron would not grant unto me mine epistle, behold, I will give unto him according to my words; yea, I will seek death among them until they shall sue for peace” (55:3).	Israeli PM to the UN regarding Hezbollah and Hamas: ‘”As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely.”  “Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for nearly a year. Well, I’ve come here today to say enough is enough.” “There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach. And that’s true of the entire Middle East. Far from being lambs led to the slaughter, Israel soldiers have fought back with incredible courage,” Netanyahu said.’ “I have another message for this assembly and for the world outside this hall: We are winning,” he said.’ ‘Netanyahu said the war can end if Hamas militants who carried out the October 7 attack in Israel surrender, lay down their weapons and return hostages seized in the attack. “We’ll fight until we achieve victory, total victory, there is no substitute for it,” he said.’ (SBS News) At least we have one Moroni-ite among us. If only the rest of the world’s leaders would follow his example and clearly, bravely, stand up to evil.